[RULE] Bloated software: solutions?

[DervishD]

    Hi Marco :)

 * M. Fioretti <m.fioretti at inwind.it> dixit:
> > see how it addresses RULE issues: can someone help me understand?
> Perfectly legitimate question.
> Raul's approach is the most valid and performing, no doubt.

    But, as James has proven, is the less valid for end users with
modest machines that cannot afford compilation, configuration, etc...

    I think that (we) hackers sometimes forget that...

> Of course, there is a huge lot of people with old hardware, and
> without absolutely time and/or technical expertise to follow Raul's
> approach.

    Or even not enough resources. A kernel hacker with 10 years Unix
experience cannot compile GCC on a 386-33 w/16MB RAM, even with lots
of swap. Famine will avoid it...

> 1) because it is extremely important that the hackers actually doing
> this and the *next* kernels remember that the people needing a low
> resource Linux are many, many more than those with both money and
> real *reasons* to buy a state of the art box every two years.

    Nice point. And I think you've had success. People in LKML has
starting to talk about this, and James has made me see what BIG
problems my approach to DIY Linux boxes has. I haven't thought of it.
In fact, it was just an example on how to use resources in an optimal
manner...

    Last but not least: the necessary knowledge for tweaking a RH
kernel is large. Very large. Touching what you don't need to will
lead to an unusable system. I have done little contributions to the
kernel, of the order of a few lines, and it's tricky, complicated and
if you don't have the skills (I don't have them, to make it clear)
you can break someone else's work.

    IMHO, reducing userspace bloat is more important. It's just like
optimizing a program. You can optimize *all* the code, and still have
only an 1% speed improvement. The key is to optimize the parts that
consume most of the resources. In a distro, the userspace programs.
After that, go for the kernel. But believe me: you won't need to
touch any line of code there. The best you can do is making sure you
have a sensible configuration, putting into modules as much as you
can and make a lean kernel with many features. Modules can help a
lot.
 
    Raúl Núñez de Arenas Coronado

-- 
Linux Registered User 88736
http://www.pleyades.net & http://raul.pleyades.net/


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